New Work Computer

[christiangordon]

Thank you in advance for all your help.

Approximate Purchase Date: within a week

Budget Range: Try to stay under $1100

System Usage: Photoshop CS4, After Effects and Avid

Parts Not Required: monitors, OS, Software

Able to get parts from: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel or AMD, NVIDIA(no ATI)

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 2x[1920x1080]

Additional Comments:
I was thinking of a i5-2400 and at least 6GB of ram.
I am unsure of the video card
I was thinking a Agility 2 SSD for primary HDD and a F3 1tb as storage
I have the OS and software already
I have two 24" LED-LCD monitors that will be used
I could also use help deciding on a good keyboard and mouse (not wireless)

 

[WR2]

Hello christiangordon;
You're thinking in the right direction with the 2nd Gen i5/i7 Sandy Bridge systems.
The evil fickle finger of fate has swung around to point at you however.
Due to an engineering fault on the Sandy Bridge motherboards they've been withdrawn from sale for the next few months.
Bug in 6-Series Chipset: Analysis

Do you want to stick with HP hardware?

 

[WR2]

It looked like there was a bright spot in the Sandy Bridge Gloom. The HP website is still letting you [strike]order[/strike] look at SB systems.
HP Pavilion Elite HPE-570t Core i7-2600 3.4GHz Desktop PC $850

add upgrades like the GeForce GT 440 @ $70 and you end up around $970. 8GB RAM, 1.5GB HDD. You just can't order them at the moment.


It looks like a HP Pavilion Elite HPE-580t is your best bet right now.
i7-950 CPU, 9GB RAM, 1.5TB HDD, and the GeForce GT 440 for about $1090.

 

[christiangordon]

Hello christiangordon;
You're thinking in the right direction with the 2nd Gen i5/i7 Sandy Bridge systems.
The evil fickle finger of fate has swung around to point at you however.
Due to an engineering fault on the Sandy Bridge motherboards they've been withdrawn from sale for the next few months.
Bug in 6-Series Chipset: Analysis

Do you want to stick with HP hardware?

I am fine with using any hardware. I would prefer to build the system from scratch. I am not completely clear on what the issue is with the 2nd gen chipsets.

should i go with a AMD Phenom II X4 970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894

 

[WR2]

To squeeze a SSD into the build I had to drift over the top of your budget and drop down on the video card a couple notches.
I'm hoping one of your monitors has a HDMI connector?

Core i7-950 3.06GHz CPU & ASUS Sabertooth X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB3.0 Motherboard combo $480
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.592174

G.SKILL 6GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel RAM Kit $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247

Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5" 64GB SATA III SSD boot drive $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357
Alternative: OCZ Agility 2 60GB SATA II SSD $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542

WD Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD & Win 7 Pro 64bit combo $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.591375

LITE-ON 24X DVD burner $16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

EVGA GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit Video Card $75 & $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130580

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $60 & $15 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

CORSAIR CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W Power Supply $45 & $10 rebates
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017

~$1131 before taxes shipping and available $45 in rebates

 

[WR2]

Going with the SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD $50
and Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
will drop the price $70 to $1061

 

[aardwolf]

You can chop off another $30 with this OCZ Vertex 2 64gb SSD on sale with a mail in rebate for $105.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550&cm_re=ocz_vertex_ssd-_-20-227-550-_-Product

 

[christiangordon]

Going with the SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD $50
and Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100
will drop the price $70 to $1061

I actually already have the OS. I purchased this a few days ago. I am getting the Antec 300 from Microcenter near me for $45+tax
I can also get the Samsung F3 1TB for $60 where I live

 

[christiangordon]

The setup suggestions look pretty good so far. I have a concern about the GPU not having enough power. I was thinking a GTX 460 1gb for $129 AR

 

[WR2]

That was my concern too. I like the idea of the GTX 460 a lot.
Let me see if we need to nudget the power supply up a notch to cover that.

Sounds like a plan coming together.

 

[christiangordon]

I can always cut back on the motherboard since I will never be using SLI.

I am wondering what type of power would be needed in this machine. I was thinking if I were to have a GTX 460 1gb I would need a good 500+ watts

 

[WR2]

Lets bump up the PSU to the Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU $70 minus $5 off w/ promo code EMCKHKJ42, ends 2/7 and a $20 rebate. With free shipping.

Add a dash of cool and quiet, plus the ability to do some nice overclocking of the CPU: CM Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler $30

And things are looking good.

 

[WR2]

I did look at the other X-58 motherboards but I was interested in getting you SATA 6GB/s and USB 3.0 into the build.

I could have suggested the ASRock X58 Extreme 3 to save $15 but the CPU/MB combo savings almost made the price equal.

 

[christiangordon]

awh okay, I am following. I actually would have looked past that. I am glad you brought that to my attention.

 

[aardwolf]

I'm a bit disappointed that USB3 and SATA III (6GBps) need new cables. I was pleasantly surprised that my new mobo came with 4 SATAIII cables, though.